If you think the smelly mayflies are worse this year than in the past, you’re right.

The pesky insects, or fish flies or Junebugs as some people call them, have invaded Mon­roe County again this year, but in larger num­bers.

The seasonal plague of bugs has been spot­ted as far west as Dundee, which held its an­nual Mayfly Music Festival last weekend.

Joe Robison, wildlife biologist supervisor at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area in Brown­stown Township, said he already has gotten more than a half- dozen calls from citizens wondering why there are so many insects this time.

He attributes the higher counts to prevail­ing east winds that are blowing the insects farther inland from Lake Erie.

“Seems like the hatch has been a lot more severe and further inland because of the east winds,” Mr. Robison explained Tuesday. “ You’re seeing a lot more of them and a greater hatch this year.”

Mr. Robison, who lives in Erie Township, said the numbers are significantly higher in places like Ida and Monroe, but are far worse in the lakeshore communities. He stopped at Toledo Beach Marina in LaSalle about sundown Monday night and every building and boat was covered with the bugs.

“It looked like a whiteout” near light fixtures, he said. “ We’re definitely seeing a lot more this year.”

The winds are blowing the insects inland so they hatch their eggs further inland. The nuisance with the insects is evident all along the Lake Erie shoreline, the Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and Saginaw Bay area, he said.

Mayflies usually live for 24- 72 hours. They leave a fishy smell when they die.

“They’ll go anywhere where there’s light at night,” the biologist said. “Many stack up on the streets below streetlights. This is where they land after they get tired of flying around for hours on end.”

The mayfly season lasts about a month and then they’re gone.

“ We’re about halfway through the season,” he said.

Barclay Stewart, who’s lived on Stony Point Peninsula in Frenchtown Township for 20 years, said it was worse when the mayflies returned about a decade ago. But he added that it hasn’t been this bad for three or four years.

Mr. Stewart said he and his neighbors simply use leaf blowers to get rid of the smelly pests. But at dusk he said the swarms of bugs are like large clouds that hover above treetops. And he doesn’t think it’s going to get any better.

“I think it’s a hint of what’s to come,” Mr. Stewart said. “I expect it to get worse.”

Annette and David Johnson recently moved back to Monroe County and settled in Bolles Harbor. She said the amount of mayflies she’s noticed is nothing really out of the ordinary.

“There have been some days of very heavy mayflies, but nothing intolerable or what I would call unusual,” she said. “ It’s always breezy here on the water so they may be present on the outside of the house, but the breezes usually move them off.”

Mrs. Johnson added that when the bugs die, the wind blows them away.

“We’re fortunate to not have the stinky, crunchy mess on sidewalks and driveways that some have to deal with,” she said.

Luna Pier Mayor David Davison said residents have been calling to complain about the mayflies so the city turns off about half of its streetlights where the bugs love to congregate. But he doesn’t think this year is any worse than others. He said the number of swarms always depends on the direction and strength of the wind.

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